How to Turn Existing Content into YouTube Videos

When HouseFresh was decimated in Google Search, the consensus advice was to go to YouTube. We thought, “We can't do video!” But we were desperate… We knew that we wanted to get a message out and we also knew Google results for many of the search rankings we had lost featured tons of videos. It was a case of either we give up, or we give YouTube a try.

AC: Did you have experience producing videos on YouTube before this?

DA: Yes, but we just used the channel as a storage space for videos, partly to show that we did actually have the units, but it wasn't particularly well-presented. It was a mix of recordings of sound levels at different fan speeds and videos on how to replace filters across different models.

When we started, we just tried to make what everyone would describe as a ‘typical YouTube video’, and just carried on from there.

AC: So really, you made the commitment out of necessity rather than choice?

DA: We always wanted to get to that point, but in our heads YouTube felt much more capital-intensive. What we found (especially in 2025 and now 2026) is that making a video that looks good isn’t massively expensive because of advances in technology. That’s the beauty of it.

AC: That’s one of the things people often overthink, is whether or not to invest in all the right gear, even if they’re still at the ‘no idea’ stage.

DA: I originally just went with an iPhone 14 because it had a good camera and useful functions like a cinematic mode, so I didn’t have to worry about adjusting things too much. I also bought an external mic for about £110, so it really wasn’t that expensive.

We did upgrade to a camera with a good set of lenses at a certain point, but we waited until we hit 10,000 subscribers - once the videos were proven. I didn’t even use a teleprompter at the start because I didn’t really know what they were. In the early videos, I had to remember everything, which was really hard. I remember spending two or three hours in the basement repeating lines like a Shakespearean actor, just trying to get it right so the videos would look good.

AC: Did your previous experience writing and creating content for the agency informed the video creation process?

DA: Definitely, but I think our big advantage was that we had actually tested and reviewed the products in the first place, so we already had the insight - and that’s what the YouTube audience cares about the most. We already had the web versions of the reviews, we just adjusted the styling so it wasn’t as wordy and we shot the videos.

AC: So when you were making those early videos, you were essentially repurposing the reviews from the site into scripts.

DA: Yes. The reason those videos did well was that they were good reviews, just in a different format. We were trying to prove to the world, or to Google at least, that our reviews were good and should rank higher because they were better.

With YouTube, we put out a review and people loved it, saying it was the best review of the product. At that time, the video would rank number one, while the written review it was based on would be buried deep into page two or three because of how our site was classified.

AC: Which do you think is a better medium to understand a review from, having done both? 

DA: Personally, I prefer a written review because I like to read, but I’ve had to accept that this is now a minority view. Even YouTube users like to have both. I’ve had people comment, asking when a review will appear on the website after seeing the video. 

AC: I’m also someone who prefers a written review, but it is nice to have both! Video requires a bit more personal investment as a creator, how did you find going from being just a name on an author page to presenter?

DA: In a way, I prefer it. Writing is an art, and I still have to do a lot of it, but I always enjoyed drama at school so it felt like a natural progression. One thing that I was missing from the site once it stopped ranking was the feedback. We stopped getting comments or emails, which was really depressing because you start wondering why you’re doing it.

With YouTube, the first comment was negative, but even that was feedback. I’ve learned a lot about air purifier technology from the comments, especially the more technical aspects that are hard to learn from the web. There are incredibly knowledgeable people on YouTube writing detailed replies and explaining things.

AC: Community building is such an underrated part of building content.

DA: Completely, and the video format is a much better way of developing a community. It happens naturally. We now see people referencing our videos and also referencing the website, which is great. With written articles, people tend to assume it's a big publisher recommending products, and there’s no real way to distinguish that. In video, it’s more powerful. You connect with people on a deeper level and they trust your perspective because they can see you. You become the brand. We saw this with thumbnails too. Early on, some didn’t include my face, but we found that those with my face performed better, which makes sense in today’s internet.

AC: The personalization of it really helps get the point across, and improve trust generally.

DA: Trust is the missing piece, and people take advantage of how easy it is to create trust signals on a web page. You can have a logo, a nice design and all the right elements. But video gives an advantage to people who are the real deal and willing to go on camera, be honest and deal with the consequences.

Now that we have built a stronger brand, I see people referencing our work when commenting on other reviews as part of their argument. That’s what you want, to educate the commenters who hold creators to account. YouTube is still good at that. People will call someone a shill if they think they’re just pushing products, whereas in traditional publishing that would rarely happen.

AC: Is there a specific software stack you started with?

DA: My first videos were recorded in CapCut, lightly edited and released as Shorts. One thing I should mention is that I took a short-form video course, which was very useful because it helped shift my mindset. It addressed common issues like trying to make everything perfect, spending too much on technology or hiring an editor too early.

Creating Shorts is probably the best way to get started because long-form videos take a lot of work in scripting, filming and editing, whereas Shorts let you experiment and learn quickly. At the time, TikTok would give most videos decent visibility, so you could test ideas even if some were poor.

AC: I imagine it’s about seeing what kind of content resonates and sticks too.

DA: Ideation is the same across formats, whether for clients, films or videos, the core idea is what matters most. One of my early Shorts about ionisers was filmed without lighting but still performed well, which proved the point. If you can hold attention in short form, you can apply that knowledge to longer videos.

Many people jump straight to long-form, make mistakes and give up, but making 20 Shorts first helps you learn without a huge investment. The course leaders didn’t know about air purifiers, but they understood hooks and short-form storytelling. The key lesson was to just get your first video out and not overthink it.

AC: Is there a process of getting over the ‘cringe’ element?

DA: Yes, definitely. The first few Shorts feel awkward. I can watch them now and think, ‘What was I doing?!’ But you have to experiment like that to get comfortable on camera, and short-form is the right place to do it. It isn’t going out to friends and family; it’s going to strangers who don’t care if you’re bad, and will tell you what works or what they want to see more of. You get instant feedback, which is motivating.

AC: Then, like everything, practice makes perfect.

DA: The aim is to design the process so you can improve without giving up. That’s the biggest hurdle people face. I remember the same thing in jiu-jitsu. I struggled when sparring because I wanted to be perfect, but the teacher told me I’d never be better than him because he’d been doing it for 30 years. That mindset can stop you from improving because you expect to be great immediately.

I see videos and podcasts with expensive cameras and lighting that still don’t perform well because they’re talking about uninteresting ideas. Execution doesn’t matter if the subject or insight isn’t compelling in the first place.